Mrs. Moore's Musings

I didn't write a blog post last week and I am sorry about that.  I have been writing every day because I am working on a project with Crystal Bridges museum, and it has taken me a lot longer and been a little more involved than I originally thought it would be.  It has been awesome-just a little more intense than I imagined.  I have been researching works of art and writing essays about the art, the artist, My work area (and breakfast) and history of the painting for an online database for teachers.  I have loved learning all about these paintings and I have realized that although I teach this and believe with all my heart--it is true that every work of art has a story to tell.  It's been awesome, but I was so busy I didn't take time to write my blog last week.  I hope you'll forgive me and keep reading.  I do feel like I'm doing okay on this New Year's resolution of mine :) This week I did something I don't normally do.  I was supposed to ...

It's summer, and for teachers, even ones like me who take on some additional duties for extra spending money, it means I get to spend more time on social media.  I love Pinterest  in the summer because all my friends find and pin awesome stuff, even though I am never sure if I am supposed to make something super healthy, something super decadent, build something awesome from reclaimed something, or get a total body workout in six minutes?  It also means I spend more time on Facebook. I was inspired today by the number of quizzes that I not only see, but am often tempted to take and laugh at myself in the process.  The recent ones have been of a new variety, asking "How much of a _____ are you?"  Be it the "b" word, redneck or my personal favorite, "How classy are you?"  I was really thinking about that this morning, as I rode on my (okay, Justin's) John Deere mower while he moved wood to our burn pile in his 1986 (I think) old pick-up truck named J...

What a week!  Have you ever had a week where NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING seems to work out exactly how you envisioned it?  Yep, me too!  Last week was the week to beat all weeks.  It started out Monday with a professional development opportunity that ended up not feeling very professional or very developing.  I left that session feeling defeated, belittled, and like my job was not the job that I love so very much.  Not a great day.  The pic I texted Justin when I was getting nervous... Justin and I are delighted to be able to put in a pool for our big summer project this year.  It is a pretty nice above ground pool.  If you know Justin, we (meaning he) did lots of research and got us a great deal on one from the internet.  We also conducted research to find reliable pool-installation people and finally after searching found one and made an appointment for them to arrive on Monday as well.  It rained Monday, so no pool guy....

It's Sunday.  The first summer Sunday.  I love summer!  This week was pretty monumental in my life in a quiet but significant way.  My husband and I accompanied our son to freshman orientation at the university of his choosing.  First of all, I feel really blessed that my son had choices when it came to his options for higher education.  Although he certainly wasn't a perfect student, he proved himself smart and capable and curious and was offered a few different scholarships from many schools in our state.  The fact that he had a true choice was very gratifying and a tiny bit scary for my husband and me.  Ultimately, he chose the university that is closest to our home.  That is NOT why he picked it.  My son does not have a major, nor does he have a clear cut path for his future at this point.  I can't imagine why--he turned 18 last week, shouldn't his road be clearly marked?  The reason he chose our local, yet kind of big uni...

Happy Father’s Day!  This morning when I woke up I had to finish wrapping a couple presents and I knew I wanted to write a quick post.  My only instructions last night were, “I want to sleep in, and I want the air conditioner to stay turned down.”  You see, I am fine with sleeping with the air down, but I truly don’t like air conditioning.  I need it and I appreciate it, but I am very sensitive to cold air.  I think it must be my advancing age.  So, I am sitting here, on this beautiful morning, bundled up, drinking coffee, looking at my camouflage and newsprint wrapped gifts, thinking about how much I cherish the men I know who are fathers. I have thought about this a lot because my relationship with fathers as a kid was not an easy one.  My parents divorced (it wasn’t very Hollywood amicable) and my sister and my mom and I made our way in the world.  It wasn’t different from most other people’s narratives, but it hurt nonetheless.  My m...

Happy Sunday.  It is 8:24 a.m. in my house.  I am sitting on my deck with a cup of coffee.  It is my second cup.  I got up around 6:30.  My plans today include folding laundry, grocery shopping, and hopefully a bike ride without too much rain.  My husband has been reviewing the river situation and I may find myself in my kayak this afternoon careening down some river that he has deemed, "probably pretty safe."  My son has left for work and my daughter has plans with some of her sweet friends this afternoon. But for this moment it is just me.  I always get up earlier than everyone else.  I am a morning person. I think it is because of the silence that I love the morning.  I wake up, grab my iPad and enjoy a few moments paging through Facebook and Instagram, looking at pictures and reading about things that people that I care about have done over the past day or so. Sometimes I look my online news sources, sometimes I get lost in Pintrest,...

Although I usually write my blog on Sunday morning, this week I decided to be a rebel and save my blog for this Thursday, June 5 th —the last day of school.  We are HOURS-MINUTES-SECONDS away from SUMMER BREAK.  I am using all caps because this elicits great joy and excitement from me!  I feel really good about the year I had.  I learned a lot!  I made some big mistakes; I had some surprising successes.  My family preserved and was strengthened through some tough, challenging stuff.  My son graduated high school and my daughter will become a freshman.  I have a lot to think about and reflect upon.  I really genuinely cherish reflection. As this year ends, it may sound crazy, but I have heard myself say to multiple people, “I am so excited about next year.”  I mean, I need summer.  I deserve summer.  I can’t wait for summer.  But, as I have poured over my student reflections and written some of my own, I am genuinely e...